Promise
by PancakesAndSunshine
Summary: Emily bonds with a victim who's family was brutally murdered. She makes a solid promise to the victim. Will she carry it out like she said she would? Read to find out... R&R please!  Light Hotch/Emily
1. Sick

**Author's Note: Hello! This is just a little thing I came up with when I was sitting here like a no-life watching NCIS. This kind of follows the plot of the CM episode "Children of the Dark". But yeah. Not tryna' rip nothing off of anything. Funny, a Criminal Minds fic spawned from an NCIS episode… Huh. Who woulda thunk? Haha :) Enjoy!**

*****WARNING: LIGHT mentions/vague parts from Season Six*****

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. But if I did, I would FORCE Paget Brewster to stay. JUST sayin'. **

"Guys, we have a case," JJ said grimly, following as the rest of the team filed into the briefing room. They each took their seats at the table, unexcitedly awaiting the grisly scene ahead of them. Penelope hurried into the room and shut the door behind her, aiming an apologetic look at Hotch.

"All five members of the Hernandez family were murdered last night in Santa Fe, California. Their neighbor found them, the parents with their throats slit and the children were…" Penelope trailed off.

"All three children were found dismembered," Rossi said grimly. Emily's breath hitched in her throat. JJ touched her arm gently.

"You okay, Em?" she whispered as Penelope carried on.

Emily nodded, feeling her lunch rise up in her stomach.

"The CSI's determined that the family was killed at approximately midnight, giving the UnSub a huge amount of time to, uh, clean up his mess and get far, far away from there," Penelope carried on.

"Clean up his mess?" Emily asked, finding her voice.

"Yes, my pet. He, um…" Penelope cleared her throat, "he doesn't leave a, well, a mess when he, you know," Penelope drew her thumb across her neck. Emily raised her head in understanding.

"Okay, guys, I'm going to put up the pictures now. Excuse me while I leave the room," Penelope muttered, scurrying out once the pictures were displayed on the screen. They showed the two parents, both sitting on the couch, with indeed, their throats slit. Then, the children showed up. That really got Emily. She stood up and rushed to the bathroom. Once she arrived, she didn't bother to close the stall door behind her. She immediately held her hair back and threw up the contents of her stomach.

JJ burst into the bathroom after her.

"Emily!" she gasped, shocked by the older, more compartmentalized profiler.

"J-JJ… I-I think… I-I think I'm o-ok-kay n-now," Emily stuttered, wiping away the throw-up from her mouth. She then proceeded to rinse her mouth out in the sink. JJ pulled out a tin of mints from her pocket and rubbed Emily's back.

"Emily… I've never seen you like this before," JJ said, surprised.

"I-I know. I-it's the k-kids," she moaned, catching her breath. JJ rubbed her back once more and gently massaged Emily's shoulders on the way out.

"Guys, wheels up in thirty. You all need your go-bags as well. Penelope, you are coming with us," Hotch informed them. Reid, Morgan, JJ, Garcia, and Rossi all hurried to collect their things. Emily followed suit, but Hotch stopped her.

"Prentiss," he said briskly.

"Oh, yes, sir?" she asked, turning around. Her eyes were cloudy and tearing up, but other than that, she looked fine.

"Prentiss, are you sure you'll be alright on this case?" he asked, concerned for one of his best profilers.

"Y-yes, sir," she said nervously. She knew she wasn't going to do well on this case. She just didn't want to give up so easy.

You see, children were Emily Prentiss's soft spot. Anything happened to her team or kids, she turned into a monster. Literally.

"Okay. Just making sure," Hotch said suspiciously. She nodded and headed to grab her go-bag.

-On the jet-

"Princess, here's the case. We had to keep briefing when you were absent," Morgan said, handing Emily a manila envelope with stacks of documents inside. She took it graciously and sifted through them.

About an hour later, she decided that she couldn't handle it anymore and shoved the papers quickly back into the folder. She smacked it down on the table and moved to the couch, curling up with tears trickling down her face.

"_Emily, help me!" a young girl screamed. Emily couldn't make out her face, but she knew she had to help the girl. She looked around, finding that she was in a graveyard. She looked at the tomb closest to her. The words were blurred, but she could make out the epitaph. It read: 'No child, so sweet and ever so innocent, should meet something so gruesome as early death'. Emily nearly puked._

"_Emily! Hurry! Please!" the girl screamed once more. As she ran to help her, a black, cloaked figure swept down in front of Emily, blocking her from aiding the girl. _

"_No… NO!" Emily screamed as the beast feasted on the girl's body._

"No… NO!" Emily screamed.

"Emily! Emily, wake up!" JJ shook her best friend's shoulder. Emily jolted and shot upwards, tears streaming down her face.

"J-JJ," she sobbed. Rossi came up to her and patted her shoulder in concern.

"Prentiss," Hotch said gently. JJ and Rossi immediately scattered back to their seats and made like they weren't paying attention.

She didn't respond. He placed his large hand softly on her knee.

"Emily," he whispered. She snapped back at the sound of Hotch's voice saying her name.

"Y-yes, s-sir?" she asked, twitching under his touch. He removed his hand and sat next to her.

"Are you alright?" he whispered.

"I-I think so, now that I'm awake," she confessed.

"Emily, what did you dream of?" Reid questioned curiously from across the jet. She tore her gaze away from Hotch and directed it towards Reid.

"What? Um, I was in a graveyard, and this little girl was calling for me to help her, but this… I don't know… This, this _thing _blocked me from helping her, then it attacked her…" she trailed off.

"According to statistics and general experience, dreams or nightmares taking place in a graveyard or in front of a tomb tend to mean that the person dreaming of them indicates that person has some sort of sadness or unresolved grief. It may also represent one's 'dead' past," he said, saying the last part with light malice. Emily blushed and looked down.

"Emily, is there something you're not telling me?" Hotch whispered once more.

"W-no, Sir. I-Do you really think I wouldn't…" she asked in disbelief. She got up in a huff and sat down next to JJ, and they conversed quietly.

Hotch took a deep breath.

_Nice going, Aaron. You just screwed everything up_, he told himself. He shrugged it off and leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes.

-In California-

"Good afternoon, Detective Bronwen. I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner, and this is SSSA David Rossi, SSA Derek Morgan, SSA's Emily Prentiss and Jennifer Jareau, our Tech-Analyst Penelope Garcia, and Dr. Spencer Reid," Hotch gestured, introducing everyone.

"I'm glad you're all here. Do you really think we've got a serial killer on our hands?" Detective Bronwen asked nervously.

"I honestly hope not," Emily mumbled.

**Author's Note: Do you see that lonely little review button? Yeah, that one. He needs a friend. Why don't you keep him company? I'll try to update soon! **


	2. Chocolate Bars and Diaries

**Author's Note: Hey y'all! Enjoy chapter 2! I'd just like to let you all know that this story will contain a very OOC Emily. It also has a little Hotly and some Emily/JJ friendship. Just like, FYI. K'thanks. **

Emily sat down at the spare table as Reid babbled about geographical profiling. He was actually talking more to himself than to anyone in particular. Hotch took a seat next to her and raised his eyebrows at Reid. Emily managed a chuckle.

Hotch had taken the initiative to make sure that the two of them stayed to keep an eye on Emily.

She tuned out from his speech and stared out the window, watching the fierce rain fall from the gray, cloudy sky.

"Right, Emily?" Reid asked, snapping her back to reality. She jumped.

"Huh? Wh-oh, um, yeah," she mumbled, not sure what they were talking about.

"Really… So you think that the UnSub is hunting in the shape of a heart?" Reid asked with a grin on his face.

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense…" she said, confused.

"Pay attention, Prentiss," Hotch ordered calmly.

"Oh, sorry," she muttered, blushing. Her stomach rumbled. Reid looked at her with confusion.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a little hungry," she said quietly. Hotch reached into his pocket and pulled out an all-caramel Milky Way chocolate bar and handed it to her. She blushed.

"My favorite… How did you know?" she asked, accepting it graciously.

"I see you eating one of these every morning," he said, a slight grin turning up the corner of his lips. She giggled as she took a hungry bite of the chocolate bar. It immediately satisfied her ravenous stomach.

"Oh, thank you, Sir," she smiled. He nodded with a grin. Their gazes lingered for a moment, but she snapped back to attention when Reid began talking.

-At the crime scene-

"JJ, what's up with Princess?" Morgan asked, pulling her aside. JJ sighed, running her hand through her hair.

"I-I don't know, Morgan. I really don't. She's a little out-of-character, isn't she?" JJ thought out loud.

"Yeah, I'm worried about her," he agreed.

"I am too, Morgan. Hotch made sure that he and Reid stayed behind. He didn't want her to be at the scene looking at-" JJ gestured, "this."

Morgan nodded.

"I'll call Baby Girl. I'll see if she can get anything out of our Princess," he sighed grimly.

-Back at the PD station-

_Brring, brring _went the phone. Penelope picked it up.

"Hello, my beautiful chocolate god. What do you have for me?" she asked quirkily, hands ready at the keyboard.

"No, not today, Baby Girl," he said.

"Oh… Something serious… What's up?" she asked, frowning at his tone.

"Princess," he said.

"I know. I'm so worried about her, Derek. I'm scared," she said quietly.

"No, don't be," he said, trying to reassure her.

"B-but, she's never been like that before when children were involved. I mean, she's gotten uncomfortable, but she's never, you know, puked!" Penelope exclaimed.

"Trust me, I know, Baby Girl. Listen, I need you to find out what's wrong with our Princess and make sure she's alright, 'kay?" he directed.

"Okay. I promise, I'll try and find out what's wrong," she said, hanging up. She sighed and looked at her furry yellow animal pen that she always took with her when she traveled with the team.

"Let's go find out what's wrong with Em, okay?" she asked it, tucking into her pocket and heading to find Emily.

"So that's that," Reid finished up. After the satisfying chocolate bar, Emily had been able to pay full attention to Reid's ever-changing theories.

"Em, sweetie, come here," Penelope gestured. Emily frowned and stood up, following the technical analyst into her temporary "lair".

"What's up, Pen?" she asked.

"That's what _I _want to know, my sweet. What's up with _you_?" she asked, poking Emily's arm.

"Ouch," she winced, rubbing it, "What do you mean?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Emily Elizabeth Prentiss. I'm sure you know _exactly _what I mean," Penelope frowned.

"Oh, you mean the puking? Yeah, that's because, um…"

"Em, are you pregs?" Penelope gasped.

Emily shot her a look.

"No, you psychopath," Emily laughed.

"You better not be!" Penelope exclaimed with a smile. Emily chuckled.

"I'm not. I promise. Now will you please tell me what the hell this is all about?" she asked impatiently. Penelope rubbed Emily's arm.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Penelope smiled genuinely. Emily hugged her.

"Love you, Pen," she smiled.

"Love you too, Em," Penelope retorted, patting her back. Emily smiled, walking away, leaving Penelope to ponder her thoughts about her distraught best friend.

-At the hotel-

Emily sighed and plopped her things down on the floor at the foot of her bed. She had been assigned to a room with JJ, and she awaited her friend. She heard quiet voices coming from the hall outside her room. Since the door was closed, Emily peeked through the peephole to discover JJ talking to Hotch. It didn't bother her, until she saw JJ giggle and Hotch smile. Not a grin, not a smirk. A _smile_.

How come he doesn't smile like that when he's around me? She thought to herself. A knot formed behind her bellybutton. That knot's name was Jealousy.

She scattered back to her bed immediately as she saw JJ making her way to the door. She innocently unpacked her things and pulled out her plastic Ziploc back with her toiletries in it. She forced a smile onto her face as she walked past JJ, shutting the bathroom door behind her. Once Emily was out of sight, JJ frowned.

"What did I do?" she whispered to herself as she heard the tap running from the sink.

JJ had spent many nights with Emily (not like that) when they were away on cases to know that she always took two showers: One in the morning and one at night, if she wasn't too tired. JJ slumped on her bed and pored over the mess that was Emily's side of the room. Something caught her eye.

It was a leather, square-shaped object. JJ turned to make sure Emily wasn't coming out, then gingerly picked it up. She ran her fingers over the worn surface and felt a small bump in one of the seams. She pulled at it to find that inside the leather cover was some sort of diary.

"A diary?" JJ muttered to herself. She'd never thought of Emily to be the type of person to keep a diary. Nor had she ever noticed it.

JJ fought the urge to open a page, but fell into temptation all too quickly. She tugged at the cover and read the first page.

_January 31__st__, 2012_

_Today sucked. Sometimes, I hate working in the FBI. Poor little Bobby Smith never got to see his mom again. Damn serial killers. Is this really what Mother and dad wanted for me?_

Okay, so it was relatively new, JJ thought. That explained why she'd never seen it before. She flipped to the next page.

_February__11__th__, 2012_

_Joy to the world. Valentine's Day is almost here. And guess what? No date. Again. It's been like this for the past six years. Screw it._

The last part was scribbled crudely, as if she was angry. What was on the next page surprised her.

No, it wasn't another diary entry. It was a drawing.

A pretty kick-ass one at that, but the scene was gruesome. It was what Emily had dreamed of. JJ was amazed by her ability to draw, but clearly, this nightmare was something else. The rest of the pages were crisp and blank, waiting for ink to blot their white surfaces. She quickly put away the leather-bound book back where she found it, partially nestled in a black sweater. She pulled out her own book, _The Illiad_, and began to read it.

"Jayje, you okay?" Emily asked, noting the unsettled look on JJ's face.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I-it's just the book," she grinned, raising it. Emily squinted to see the title.

"_The Illiad_? That must be one hell of a book, then," Emily chuckled. JJ nodded.

"Yep. It sure is one hell of a book."


	3. Victoria

**Author's Note: Hiyah! Enjoy… BTW, I modeled Victoria after myself. Just because. She says things I would say if people were… Just read to find out, yeah?**

Emily groaned as the shrill, piercing sound of the hotel phone ringing awoke her. She grabbed blindly at the phone.

"Agent Prentiss," she answered, trying to maintain a professional composure.

"Prentiss, we need you and JJ. Now," Rossi ordered, hanging up. By the tone of his voice, something important was probably happening. She pulled on her clothes and shook JJ's shoulder. JJ moaned.

"Jayje, we need to go. It's important," Emily shouted, trying to wake JJ up. At the word 'important', she bolted upright and scrambled to get dressed.

Five minutes later, the two women were ready. They groggily headed downstairs. For the first time since being awake, Emily checked her watch. It was 2:30 in the morning.

The two met the rest of the team downstairs and they all hurried into the SUV's.

"Hotch, will you please tell us what's going on?" Morgan asked now fully awake.

"The local PD called me and said that someone fitting the profile was around Clemens Street," Hotch mumbled. The two SUV's raced through the near-empty streets and made sharp rights onto Clemens Street. The cars jolted to a stop and every member flew out, guns already raised. The police stopped them with grim looks on their faces.

"Sorry guys. You're a little too late…" the head detective said grimly.

"Damn," Emily spat.

"Shit. Another five people killed?" Morgan asked, hands on his head.

"No, you guys are lucky. Only four this time," he replied.

"There's a survivor?" Emily asked hopefully.

"Yep, a twelve year old girl," he said. Emily immediately ran towards the ambulance where the girl was waiting.

"No, stop," the girl grumbled towards the nurses trying to check her out. She was swatting away the lights and stethoscopes.

"I'm fine! God…" she muttered.

"Excuse me, sweetie, but you have to let them check you out," Emily said softly. The girl looked up towards her with a doubting look on her face. Tears were still falling from her cheeks, but she tried to maintain composure.

"And who are you to tell me so?" the girl asked.

Emily held up her badge.

"I'm Agent Emily Prentiss with the FBI," she said calmly.

"O-okay," the girl began to burst into sobs. Emily gestured for a minute alone with the girl, and the nurses immediately scattered.

Emily put her hand on the girl's knee. The girl looked up.

"What's your name, sweetie?" Emily asked.

"V-Victoria," she said, blushing.

"Okay, Victoria. I know you're really upset and confused right now, but you have to cooperate, okay?" she said.

"Fine," Victoria grumbled. Emily nodded and rubbed her knee, standing up and allowing the nurses to check her out again.

"Prentiss," Morgan called. Emily nodded and made her way towards him.

"Yeah, what's up?" she asked.

"That girl," he pointed towards Victoria, "she was raped."


End file.
